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04-12-88 Parks Comm MinutesPARKS/PUBLIC LANDS/ANNEXATION/ZONING/AIRPORT APRIL 12, 1988 COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Vice -Chairman Noel Furlong Marla Robinson, Chairwoman, Absent Jim Atkinson John Gunnerson OTHERS PRESENT: Glen Neier, City Attorney Craig Kerzman, Acting Building Official Ken Hammer, Public Works Director Mayor Kennedy Jim Atkinson was detained and there was pre -committee meeting discussion. For notes see last page. Chairman Furlong called the meeting to order at 4:31 p.m. as Marla Robinson Chairwoman was absent due to illness. Item No. 1 was cancelled as Mike Baker was out of town. Agenda Item No.2 was cancelled by letter from Joe Astle of the Venture Group. Agenda Item No. 1 (New Agenda) - Elk's R.V. Park Proposal: Bob Nieboer stated the Elks has requested relief from building a fence and being required to asphalt the R.V. Park for financial reasons. He said the asphalt is a major expense that they did not anticipate and gave the following reasons: dust abatement should take care of the problem as there will not be much traffic and it will be slow moving in comparison to the ballpark and alleys that are not paved. He said they would like to keep up the main Elks parking lot and re -pave that before they have to go to the expense of paving an extra area. If they have to put down asphalt they cannot have an R.V. Park. It will not pay for itself with the loan and the paving expense also. The 10 spaces will be at $10.00 each and all 10 spaces may not be filled every night. He noted the Elks would have first choice and it would also be open to the public. MOTION: John Gunnerson made a motion that the City Council grant the relief the Elks have requested, which was granted by the City - County Planning Commission to delete the fencing and delete the paving from the R.V. Park proposal. Jim Atkinson seconded the motion. Roll call vote was unanimous with motion open for discussion. Larry Lee stated that this is probably the first R.V. proposal in the City of Kalispell., and within Flathead County there are probably no fully paved R.V.Parks as the Elks have been asked to provide. Jim Atkinson asked if this was normal city policy that the streets be paved within the city limits when a new street is going in - as he had heard? Ken Hammer, Public Works Director stated in every city in Montana, yes that is the policy. He noted there are only a few blocks that are not paved. Bob Nieboer questioned the use of the term Street. He felt an R.V. Park falls within the private enterprise area. If a gate encloses it on both ends and it is opened only to the customers, he felt it did not fall with- in the definition of a City Street. Chairman Furlong asked David Greer and Ken Hammer to give input on this. David Greer stated the Subdivision Regulations that address R.V. Parks states "Roads within R.V. Parks shall be paved." It is part of the sub- division regulations. John Gunnerson said the primary concern that was brought up at the last meeting was there may be some areas that do not have paving on them, but that does not mean that the City continues to follow that path. We have a quality City and have done a lot of work in the last ten years. They did not want to set a precedence with just cutting a path through, leaving it graveled. It does not curtail anything of this nature in the future happening elsewhere in the City. He felt there might be a need for an addendum or conditions to guard against this. If it is stated that no paving is necessary, then he would vote against it. The fencing was discussed with Bob Nieboer stating he felt it was an unnecesasry expense. There is nothing towards the airport that would attract the animals and people. He said the animals would have restric- tions to be on leashes and not running around. He stated they are try- ing to improve what is a weedy swamp and tall grass in the back that will attract more business to the city. • He noted when R.V.'s come to town they either park at the Buttrey's parking lot or just pull off on the side of the road somewhere. This would give them a place to go and do shopping in the city elsewhere. Chairman Furlong noted that the swamp could be considered an attractive nuisance. Bob Nieboer said they also looked at the possibility of leasing the city property immediately behind the area where the R.V. Park would be going, which is the airport property - for future expansion of the R.V. Park if business increases. If they expanded they would not want to put a fence in now only to have to take it out later. Bob Nieboer said he felt comfortable with speaking for the Board that the Elks would probably be willing to sign an agreement with the City for say, 50% of the property if a 4 foot chain link fence were going to be put in - they would participate in their area in the future, if all of the people around the airport would put up a fence. City Attorney Glen Neier said he wanted to point out that a 4 foot high chain link fence is not really a security fence. It will not increase or decrease the City's liability if someone wanders out on to the airport. Jim Atkinson said that he was still very adamant about getting the Park paved and felt it was an excellent project for the Elks. -2- Jim Atkinson asked Bob Nieboer if a variance for a certain length of time - around 3 years would be agreeable, as long as the drive through was sprayed with dust abatement oil they could put off paving for that amount of time. Jim Atkinson also said he would like to see for the sake of the R.V. Park more so than liability on to the airport, some delineation of some type, i.e. Days Inn Motel's fence showing where it stops. Bob Nieboer said he had hoped that his nicely mowed green lawn would serve as a descrip- tion for the boundaries of the Park, so there would be no need for the fence. Bob Nieboer said in reply to the 3 years variance, he really appreciates the offer, but the only problem he has with it is he is not sure that in 3 years they will be in any better shape financially than they are now. He would appreciate it being a little more loose i.e. at the end of the 3 year period they could renegotiate with the City. He would like the City to look at it then and not close them down. Chairman Furiong asked Glen Neier, City Attorney for his opinion. Glen Neier stated if the committee wishes to grant some sort of variance, regardless how the city operates its ball field, there should be some sort of dust abatement. We are in trouble right now with the State of Montana Department of Health for having too much dust in the air. Under Paragraph 5 of the conditions, we made as one condition the Elks seasonally spray their parking areas with some sort of dust abatement material. • Glen Neier said as far as giving a_.variance for the enlargement of the R.V. Park, it would be perfectly appropriate to give them a break now, and also statedif the business works out so well that you can expand, then put pavement in then. • John Gunnerson stated if the dust abatement is applied, he felt that it should be recommended to the council with that type of approval. He felt the City -County Planning Board is more of an expert in this area, and we as a committee should not alter their recommendation. Jim Atkinson asked why they are more of an expert in this area? John Gunnerson stated they have more input than the city council receives, and work shops that go through the various ordinances; work shops that David Greer takes them through covering various entities as far as the zoning requirements of the city, annexation, etc. MOTION: John Gunnerson madea motion to amend the firstmotionand to include the Elks Club to maintain a dust control program while it is in its graveled state,and will include the paving of the R.V. Park access and drive -through as a part of any future ex- pansion of the R.V. Park. Jim Atkinson Seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: John Gunnerson and Noel Furlong voted yes. Jim Atkinson voted yes but for the record wanted it noted he was opposed. -3- Chairman Furlong thanked the Elks for coming and stated the recommend- ation will be brought before the City Council next Monday, April 18, 1988. Agenda No. 4 - Review Medical Arts Zone Request: David Greer was asked to comment and he stated this committee will be, making a recommendation to the council to vote for or againstthe zone change one more time. Items to be voted on are; To allow drive-in banking facilities as a conditional use; Eliminate bank, savings and loans as a permitted use; To allow pharmacies as a permitted use. Jim Atkinson asked about the cleaning up of the zoning mentioned at the previous meeting? David Greer said in the Planning Board staff report it was mentioned as being an interim zoning classification lean- ing towards a hospital zoning classification on the hill. This is better than an RA-1, but not quite all the way there to a hospital zoning classi- fication. Jim Atkinson asked about the drive-in bank. David Greer noted they have to go before the Board of Adjustment for this use. The pharmacy would be permitted like clinics are currently permitted now. Jim Atkinson asked how the traffic will be addressed? John Gunnerson said we have to deal with the State and the County. MOTION: John Gunnerson moved the committee allow the request change for a zoning change from an RA-1 to an RA-3. • Roll call vote was unanimously in favor. • More discussion. Jim Atkinson stated he felt that the traffic has to be addressed before the city allows any more business to go in at this loca- tion. There is the need for this application and agreed with Bruce Lutz on his view of eliminating the traffic travelling back and through town. The bank will cause traffic, and then there is the traffic trying to get back on to the highway. David Greer wanted it to be noted within any zoning classification you are allowed a list of permitted and conditional uses. Any one of those uses is allowed by right once that zoning classification is in effect. Very few things ever get approved by the council. They are either allowed out- right, or they go before the Board of Adjustment. The council cannot review individual projects. They can review zone changes. For example, if the Elks Club wanted to move the entire facility up to the hospital area, they are allowed to do that as a permitted use, and they do not need to even go before the Board of Adjustment. They would simply meet the water, sewer, street design standards of the city and obtain a building permit, go up there and build. -.4- Steve Weber, M.D. stated they could now build a medical office on this property that would cause traffic problems, and have chosen not to do 10 this. He found out that as an RA-1 they cannot build a medical building there because it is not allowed in that zone. There is a piece of pro- perty 50 yards away from their corner that is zoned B-3 where we could build a banking facility. The Medical Arts Group is not here to ask for a banking facility, however, obviously we have an interest in this. We are asking for a zoning change and do not even know if this project will float. We have gone to our consultants and they cannot do a proposal until we obtain this zoning change; and we still do not know if we could work it out with First Federal. They at this present time could use this same property 50 yards away on their own. Dr. Weber noted the expansion on the hill listing all the facilities. He said in conjunction with this expansion, he too; would like to see the traffic addressed. It is a separate issue aside from their asking for an appropriate zone change. The City Attorney noted the last zoning text amendment at the first reading by the council has the effect of eliminating at least one major problem and contributing to traffic in that it will eliminate totally hotels, motels in as accessory uses in the RA-3 zone, as well as banks, savings and loans will be eliminated. John Gunnerson noted the traffic study should be done by now for that area. Mayor Kennedy said it will not be done until June of this year, and he anticipated the problems being corrected soon. • John Gunnerson said in the future he felt it was the councils responsibility (Safety Committee) to start working with the county highway department to get something going rather than wait for it to get done. Jim Atkinson said he felt after the information presented at this meeting today, he admitted he was trying to address a traffic problem at the expense of the developers that wished to do something with the land. The problem is not theirs, and not for them to address. It is for someone else to address. He noted that he will vote for this because it is not their problem on the hill. Chairman Furlong stated he would also support the motion and apologized to the people involved for the confusion that has surrounded this application. MOTION: John Gunnerson made the motion to grant the Medical Arts Zone Change request from an RA-1 to an RA-3 to be presented to the City Council at the meeting of April 18, 1988. Roll call vote was unanimously in favor. Chairman Furlong adjourned the meeting by loss of a quorum at 5:20 p.m. -5- c Respectfully Submitted, Nancy gg Recording Secretary Noel Furlong Chairman nc Pre -Meeting Discussion: The Golf Course was in attendance hoping to be heard. Chairman Furlong point- ed out to them that they were not on the agenda and it was not possible to hear them unless the committee voted for the agenda change. This was not done but discussion followed until the last council member arrived. For information purposes John Gunnerson stated the golf course lease was discussed at the Golf CbuFse(.Work Shop last night, 4-11-88. They put together a document which they had hoped to discuss today. Due to various problems . he saw that this would have to be delayed and taken up at another meeting. Chairman Furlong stated Glen Neier, City Attorney worked all day putting in details on the lease that were discussed at the work shop last evening. It is still in rough draft form and will have to be discussed by the committee before they can schedule a meeting with the Golf Course. Chairman Furlong noted hopefully, it will be at the next committee meeting that they can discuss this lease.